Purely Talent
by Alhandra
Summary: OC, first fanfic...Chapter 9 - one can only run so far before one's caught up with, especially, if one's running from murderous Sentinels WITH one's mother...
1. The Good, the Bad, and ME

Disclaimer: All the characters here belong to Marvel, except Kelsey and her brother, so don't sue me, because I am officially broke.  
  
Chapter 1:  
  
A groan fell from my lips as I realized that I had skidded into a dead-end. Another one. My fourteenth. So sue me for counting. With an almost despairing sigh, blinking rain out of my eyes and reshouldering the small backpack I carried, I turned and resumed my half jog, seeing as I was rather out of breath. I could hear Him somewhere behind me, and the prospect of being caught wasn't altogether appealing. To make things worse, twilight was turning to night FAST, and guess what? I HATE the dark. Nyctophobia, I think. That's what a friend of mine said.  
  
Whatever. It's not like that piece of knowledge was going to do me any good in the first place. Now, knowing how to throw Mr. Stranger-who's-out-to-get-me off my trail would be useful. And for goodness sake, He was WALKING while I was RUNNING, and He was GAINING on me.  
  
That wasn't fair.  
  
"I can smell your fear, kid. You can't run forever." His voice snarled out from some unknown point behind me, and I eeped. Me? Frightened? Did it sound like I was FRIGHTENED? No way. I wasn't frightened. Terrified wouldn't even cover it, actually. I was ready to piss my pants. Twice.  
  
Oh yeah, I wasn't frightened. No sir-ree.  
  
And the B-A- taking the place of the M-U- in mustard could SMELL me? My fear? Oh boy. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what kind of a being was chasing me. A mutant. I'd bet everything I owned (which actually isn't much now...) that he-who-was-chasing-me is a mutant.  
  
Darn.  
  
Don't get me wrong. I have absolutely nothing against mutants, unlike some - MOST - other people I am acquaintanced with. I can honestly say that I know a lot about them, having "done my homework." Read about them, found them interesting...heck, seen several of them in action on my way back home from school once. Prior to today, naive little ol' me thought that all mutants were actually good and were persecuted wrongly - like the X-Men. I'd love to meet one of them.  
  
I never imagined that I, Kelsey Carol Selena Rias, would wake up this morning, on my sixteenth birthday, as a mutant.  
  
I also never imagined that by evening, I'd be running FROM a mutant - or more precisely, one particular mutant who JUST so happened to be one of the X-Men's enemies. Mr. Slice-'em-dice-'em-Sabretooth. Which brings me to my next question.  
  
WHY THE HECK WAS HE CHASING ME?  
  
As a child, I've always daydreamed about being chased after by some hot, gorgeous, drool-worthy guy set bent on wooing me. Or being rescued by some bold and dashing (and drop-dead-gorgeous) knight in shining armour from an evil dude (both of whom would also have intentions to seduce me. Don't ask. Just don't.)  
  
The world loves me soooooo much, that it decided to grant my little fantasy. In a twisted sort of sense, in case you haven't noticed. I was being pursued by an UGLY (BIG difference from my daydream, #1) weirdo who most PROBABLY wants to gut me open and read his fortune with my guts (BIG difference from my daydream, #2).  
  
Life most certainly stinks.  
  
I was now reduced to speed-walking, and was nearly bent double in exhaustion. My throat HURT. My legs HURT. My chest HURT. In case it wasn't too noticeable, I HURT. I wanted to collaspe on the ground. Rain pelted down upon me, and it felt more like hail than water as the wind (which, if I may add, was NOT present a few minutes ago...) picked up distinctly. The brutal weather slashed at my exposed face and arms. If I was in this much pain, I hoped vehemently that Toothy (yes, TOOTHY) was in worse condition. Though I highly doubt so.  
  
Dying now would be good. Very good. But there was a plus side, wasn't there? My life sure as heck couldn't get any worst than it already was, could it?  
  
Classic last words. Of COURSE it could, dumb Kelsey. Why, you should know better than to say such a thing...  
  
The sky had faded to a dark grayish-black colour, and panic was soon settling in as I realized that darkness was descending rapidly. With the rain and half-night obscuring my vision and clouding my sense of direction, I rounded a corner where a dim lamp-post stood, and -   
  
WHAM!  
  
The next thing I knew, I was lying rather dazed atop someone's legs, having crashed hard into someone. I tried scrambling to my feet. Notice I said, "tried." This therefore means that I failed. Quite miserably. Not only did my legs choose that precise moment to rebel and become a dead-weight and thus unmovable, but the person I had collided painfully with had grabbed my arm. Tightly. OW.  
  
"Whoa, where's the fire, kiddo?" He said, and I merely scowled at him, my heart doing double-time distressingly as I tried to break free. He was pretty cute, I guess, with tousled, sopping wet brown hair and wide, surprised, intelligent brown orbs for eyes. Probably no older than 23. Also a bloody idiot who was unwittingly going to be the cause of my death. Unless he was working with Toothy. I shuddered inwardly at that thought. If that were true, then I did all that running for NO REASON?  
  
"Well now, isn't this cosy."  
  
My heart skipped a beat when He loomed out of the darkness, claws extended VERY menacingly. Fear swamped me, threatening to choke off my air supply. On the verge of hyperventilation. Didn't my doctor hint something at me about having a mild case of asthma? Oh yes, life was JUST great (NOT).  
  
Toothy advanced on the both of us, and the guy holding on to me let go quickly, muttering under his breath, and got to his feet. I began backing up upon my hands and knees, expecting the guy to bolt and leave me to His Ugliness's murderous intentions.  
  
To my profound surprise, he faced Toothy (brave guy...or extremely dumb...and I think the latter), and grinned. Hope fluttered rather pathetically within me. Perhaps I wouldn't die...  
  
"Nice to see you again," He piped rather cheerfully, and I felt the little flying thingy called Hope inside me crash into a window and slide down into the deepest recesses of my stomach. I moaned. Of all the bloody...they KNEW each other?  
  
I was REALLY going to die now.  
  
"Outta my way, Ice-block. My quarrel's not with you. Today." Toothy grated out, and I thought he sounded almost wistful. Like he WANTED to have a go at the guy who stood in front of me. Well, at least it was a teensy bit comforting to know that the guy Toothy referred to as Ice-block wasn't in league with 'im.  
  
Ice-block merely smiled. "No, you're probably lying, but I'll forgive you for that one. So what's up with you and her? A relationship gone wrong?"  
  
Eww, eww, EWWWWWW!!!! GROSS!!! This guy was SICK!!! If I got out of this alive, HE WAS GOING DOWN!  
  
Nevertheless, Toothy roared in anger (obviously), and threw himself at Ice-block, claws poised to kill. Ice-block flung himself to the side calmly, and Toothy's momentum carried him forwards...into me.  
  
Before I could react, move, dive out of the way, do SOMETHING, his claws had scored deep into my left shoulder. I FELT them going in, and the sensation I gathered was as if I was undergoing surgery WITHOUT anesthetic (not that I've actually ever had that done to me). And he had FIVE of those bloody things. Pain exploded in my mind, white-hot and searing, and tore through my entire being. Something warm flowed in rivers down my arm and side of body rapidly, and light-headedness was soon settling in. Something also cracked within my chest. Loudly. It HURT. So, naturally, I did what anyone in my predicament would have done.  
  
The shriek that burst from my lips was laced with pure pain (if ever there was such a thing) and agony, hopefully loud enough to wake the dead. I would have welcomed their help GLADLY. However, the in-your-face-scream was enough to make him draw back briefly.  
  
Bad, bad thing. For me, that is. If he leans back, his embedded claws would follow him back as well, wouldn't they?  
  
Dingdingding. We have a winner.  
  
A split second after those nasties had sliced into me, they came out as he recoiled. Another cry burst from my lips, though this was barely a squeak. While straining to keep above the looming darkness tinging my vision, I was also attempting to draw in air. Sheez, you'd think that being a mutant I would have been able to do SOMETHING, my powers having to do with moving objects without touching them or something. Problem was, I had totally forgotten all about it up until now. And now was waaaay too late.  
  
Wasn't I smart. Yet what I wanted to know was who exactly wanted me deader than a doorknob before I met up with God (I fervently hoped). I must have voiced that barely coherent thought aloud, because Toothy merely smirked at me.  
  
"Think reeeeal hard, little bird," What, I was now a pet? "Who would want you dead?"  
  
I blinked sluggishly, still fighting off the blackness. Then it hit me, even as Toothy suddenly howled in pain, and as shards of something rained down upon my numbed, beyond-pain being. There was only one person I knew who wouldn't give a crap whether or not I was dead. And that one person was my brother.  
  
Ah yes. Hayden Trey Rias. If I were asked to sum him up in less than 5 words, I don't think I would have been able to do it. He was simply a sadist. A cruel, unfeeling being. Also a mutant hater. What great combos.  
  
But it shouldn't have happened, him finding out that his only sister turned out to be a mutant. He had angered me while talking to a few friends of his about how mutants were insults to the human race, and that they were all better off dead (personally, I thought HE was better off dead). Before I realized it, the lamp behind me had lifted off the table it was on, and flew with unerring accuracy to slam into his face. I should have recognized drunkenness when I saw it, but I didn't, and when he finally understood what I had done, he had also drawn the same conclusion that I had. And that's when the running started. How much did he bribe Toothy to go after me? And where would he have gotten the money? We weren't rich. In fact, we were as rich as a real bum in -   
  
I moaned as the world abruptly tilted and rocked, and my vision plummeted, as did my other senses. My thoughts became one large mess, blending into each other as it rambled on and on as I fought back the urge to puke. Something fiery-gold streaked across the darkening twilight, uncannily low across my vision. A moving blur of ice-blue colour, streaming rapidly across the ground. A reddish-pink slash that blasted out in a horizontal arc above me. More flashes of light. Then the sensation of being picked up. I panicked, instinctively twisting to escape whoever's grasp. Of course, moving around caused the bleeding wounds to flare sharply and swiftly, and I gasped. The person's grip on me tightened, and I felt myself grow colder with each passing breath.   
  
Then darkness came swept me under.  
  
And I welcomed it.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
What do you think? Is it worth continuing? 


	2. Kelsey, the Human Pincushion

Disclaimer: All the characters here belong to Marvel, except Kelsey and her brother, so don't sue me, because I am (still) officially broke.  
  
Chapter 2:  
  
Awakening from darkness TO darkness, I decided, was rather traumatizing.  
  
Especially considering how I hoped to awake in heaven and live happily-ever after, waking up to a complete pitch blackness would 1) Cause me a great deal of panic; and 2) Make me think that I was DOWN there.  
  
And that's exactly what happened.  
  
I know I must have screamed. Everything else was really a blur following that, except that there was more pain in my left shoulder, where I knew that I would carry Toothy's trademarks forever more. Liquid oozing down my shoulder. Shoutings. Hands holding me down. I remember thrashing around, trying desperately to escape their administrations. The prick of something long and slender entering my arm. A numbness that began spreading quickly. But panic still reigned, and I felt the same prick once more.  
  
Then, however, SOMETHING cut through the haze of pain and drugs that ran maniacally through my mind. Warmth. A soothing calmness, a feather-light touch upon my consciousness. A sense of peace, KNOWING that it was all okay, that I was safe. Angelic? That was the closest I could get to describing the feeling. It bade me relax, that when I woke up, it'd be there for me. A promise that I wouldn't be alone.  
  
What could I do? Already doped up on drugs and sedated twice (TWICE? What are these people trying to do - KILL me? Oh wait...that IS a possibility...), what say did I have in this?  
  
Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch.  
  
So, with darkness calling me, I rolled my eyes and answered its call.  
  
---  
  
I've always wondered about this: if I had a fear of the dark, why wasn't I afraid when it came down to simple things like sleep, closing my eyes, or falling unconscious (which I seem to be doing often)?  
  
I guess it's all in the head. I close my eyes to sleep, to darkness, a certain type of oblivion. But yet even so, I KNOW that when I awake, it'll be to light, to sunshine, to the dawning of a new day.  
  
So it's a messy theory. But hey, I'm still alive, aren't I?  
  
---  
  
The next time I awoke, it was to bright, artificial lights hanging overhead (See? My theory worked). IV tubes hung off the bed I was on, the majority of them inserted into my arms, legs, and various points of my body. I glanced down the length of the bed I was lying on. I looked like a frigging pincushion.  
  
At least I was decently clothed.  
  
Slowly, I tried lifting myself onto my elbows, attempting to take in my surroundings, to hopefully figure out where exactly I was without doing any damage to myself OR cause any tubes/needles (Ick) to fall out (Double Ick). I hated needles. Actually, I hated anything that could be poked inside of me. Period. I wanted to rip it out of my skin. Especially the one that was hooked up to this machine that kept bleeping regularly. I think it measured heart rate or something, since the blips seemed pretty constant.  
  
I must have been weaker than I expected myself to be, for after about a second, I gave up and semi-flopped back down onto the bed. A headache was in the midst of beginning. Nausea decided to settle in. A needle dislodged itself from my arm inexplicably, and hung in the air motionless. My surroundings were -   
  
Wait a minute.  
  
A NEEDLE? HANGING IN THE AIR?  
  
Uh oh.  
  
The machine flat-lined at the precise moment my right hand closed around the loose (and if I may add, FLOATING) needle, and before I could do anything with it, there was a light swishing sound from my left, and I immediately dropped the needle, not before giving it an offended look. I didn't ASK for it to happen...did I? I just...wanted it out of me...  
  
"I see you're awake," A grave voice came from my left, from where the swishing noise had come from, and my head turned slowly in that direction. I guessed that it was the doctor. I was right. A big, bespectacled, blue-furred one. And guess what? He wasn't alone. There were at least 7 other people in the welcoming committee. What was I? A once-in-a-lifetime exhibition? I didn't have trouble picturing that one - the human pincushion. Sheez. Yes, sheez. A cross between Sheesh and Jeez. I do that often. So there.  
  
I already had a sneaking suspicion as to where I was currently, upon seeing the blue-furred doctor. I mean, how often DO you hear about doctors having blue fur? My guess was right when the doctor began talking, introducing himself to be Dr. Hank McCoy, and confirming all of my suspicions in one go. Yes, I was alive (and far from dead), yes, I was still in New York (where I was born and lived...no, STILL live...uh...), yes, I was safe, among the X-Men, and yes, I was a mutant. Powers? Unconfirmed, aside from telekinesis, the culprit that yanked the needle (which was now lying on the ground on the other side of the bed) out of my arm. You know, moving objects with the mind without touching it, yada yada yada (Like I didn't already know what it meant). Something to do with being naturally shielded as well, and thus immune to telepathy and the such. He started explaining how he was sure that I had more than just TK, and that because of the laceration I had sustained when Sabretooth wounded me (more like skewered, in my opinion), it appeared to have done something which affected me in some way and was now lying quiescent.  
  
HUH?  
  
The moment he started using big words, an alarm sounded in my head and my brain went on an automatic lock-down. Everyone uses big words from time to time - me, for one - but this was ridiculous. It seemed like his ENTIRE vocabulary composed purely of bigger-than-big words. He even made the word "the" sound like it was important!  
  
Panic must have shown on my face (either that, or uninterest - I sincerely hope not, but I swear, I FELT as my eyes glazed over slowly), because one of the seven other present chuckled. My gaze swept to him, and I gave a little start. It was the exact same guy who I had crashed into that fateful day when I had gotten those gorgeous (*cough cough*) scars. Brown hair that was swept back from his face. Chestnut-coloured eyes that were by far the best feature on his young, boyish face. Tall. Lanky. He was the one Toothy had called Ice-block. AND the one who had "innocently" asked Toothy if he had a falling out with me.  
  
I had a score to settle with that one. Once I could actually move, that is. I was going to kill him, regardless of whether he was part of the people who had saved me or NOT.  
  
"I think she lost you the moment you opened your mouth, Hank," He said, and smiled at me. I began playing whack-a-butterfly with those critters that had popped up in my chest, but they were elusive. He had a NICE smile, I admitted inwardly. And he was pretty cute.  
  
That still wouldn't be enough to save him from my revenge, however.  
  
Dr. McCoy glared at him, but I suspected that he was used to having that guy poke fun at him, for the corner of his mouth twitched in amusement. Apparently this wasn't the first time it had happened either, I found out later, that the doctor tended to go overboard with his words. Somehow I wasn't surprised. He WAS a doctor, after all. A good one.  
  
He must have noticed me glancing at the rest of the group, and so began the introductions (Oh yay...names and faces to remember. Have I mentioned how I have a lousy memory?). Even though I had researched up on mutants, all I had really known was that there were these bunch of people known as the X-Men. Me and a friend of mine, a guy my age named Chase Harper, had gone to the library constantly after school each day to read up on mutants, but we never really could find much. His interest in mutants rivaled mine, and like me, one of his life-long dreams was to meet the X-Men. In fact, we had actually bet that if whoever met the X-Men first would be owed five bucks.  
  
I can't WAIT to see the look on his face when I tell him that I had won the bet. Met them first before he did. And that he owed me money. That is, if I ever see him again.  
  
My mind attempted to keep up with him as he sped through the introductions. Ice-block was actually Bobby Drake, codenamed Iceman (why wasn't I surprised?). The woman with a streak of white amidst her auburn hair and bright emerald green eyes was known as Rogue. The tall guy with funky reddish-black eyes and a strong frame was Remy LeBeau, aka Gambit. He was drool-worthy. VERY drool-worthy. Then there was Ororo Munroe, or Storm, with her exotic coffee-coloured skin; Jean Grey, the only red-head of the group; Scott Summers, or Cyclops, the leader with the ruby-quartz visor; and the wheelchair-bound and bald Professor Charles Xavier, founder of the X-Men. He reeked with authority.  
  
My head was whirling with all this processed information that I hadn't realized someone had asked me a question until that Drake guy snorted.  
  
"She's not one for paying attention, is she?" I glared at him, though the rush of heat in my face told me unnecessarily that I was flushing. Darn him. And to make things worse, THEY laughed as well.  
  
Double DARN him.  
  
Instead, I entertained various thoughts about murdering him, while the Professor repeated his question.  
  
"And what's your name, child?"  
  
CHILD? Now THAT was insulting. Nonetheless, I replied. "Kelsey," Hesitation. "Rias."  
  
"That's not your full name, is it, Kelsey?" The Professor mused.  
  
Give HIM a million dollars for that observation. "No. It's not."  
  
"I see." With those two VERY ominous words, he lapsed into a silence, one which definitely unnerved me. There was something akin to an itch in the back of my head, and I irritatedly willed it away.  
  
"So, uh," Wasn't I the mistress of continuing conversations. "What's going to happen to me now?"  
  
"Well, once you've recovered from your minor injuries," Minor injuries? MINOR? WHAT WAS WRONG WITH MR. SUMMERS? These had been BLOODY (haha...not) LIFE-THREATENING wounds! Not that I actually told him that, of course. I valued my life a lot, thank you very much. "You will be brought back home to gather whatever you need, and then brought back here to learn how to control your mutant powers." Okay, I guess that sounded good. Seems like I don't have a choice anyways. Except - "As well, I think it's best that we informed your parents about your -,"  
  
"Oh please no," I blurted out before I could help it, and groaned inwardly as I mentally kicked myself hard in the behind. They were all staring at me, especially Mr. Summers, who looked like he didn't take interruptions lightly. I wish I could have curled up and died right there and then, under the scrutiny of eight pairs of eyes.  
  
"Why not, sugah?" Those mild words that came from the lady called Rogue conveyed tones of curiosity, and I shivered as I thought of the answer. My brother would most likely take out a gun and start shooting if they ever came to his door. I bet he had already disowned me - or better yet, spread the word that I was dead. And claimed insurance for my death. What a nice guy.  
  
"Just - just because I don't have anything worth salvaging," I muttered. I had NOTHING. Hayden had burnt all of my stuff, except the several belongings I had in my backpack which I...HAD... been...carrying..."Where's my stuff?" Panic decided to pay homage to me again. At this rate, I was eventually going to die of heart failure from the constant panic attacks I was having. Next year.  
  
The red-head standing beside Mr. Interrupted-Summers (who, incidentally, had his hand in hers...married? Engaged? Something like that?) went to the end of the room (after letting go of him reluctantly, I noticed...I hope I never end up like that), and brought my beloved (torn, dirty, and ragged) bag to me, placing it beside my left hand. Feeling decisively relieved, the panic I had seeped away slowly, as my fingers closed tightly around the strap.  
  
"That's all I need," I announced. "And about telling the rest of my family," I hesitated slightly. "Don't bother. I don't have a family." Not anymore, I silently added. As far as I was concerned, it was better off if Hayden suspected me dead. I didn't need him to complicate more things in my life.  
  
To my surprise, they seemed to accept this (if somewhat suspiciously), and after a few more questions, like did I know I was a mutant (Why do you think I was on the run from Toothy? Of course, they wouldn't know he was sic on me - they probably thought I was merely in the wrong place at the wrong time), how old I was (halfway to thirty, plus one), gender (AS IF they couldn't tell by themselves), date-of-birth (yesteday, seeing as I was out for one FULL day, sixteen years ago)...things like that.  
  
When they finally did take their leave, only Mr. Dr. McCoy remained behind to check on me. By this time, the nausea had long since receded, but the headache had developed, and was tripling in size and action (I sounded like a darn advertisement). Come on, PLEASE bring on the sedatives before I get a migraine. Give me a double dose. A triple dose. Kill me. SOMETHING. And a painkiller would be nice too. Toothy's marks were starting to really hurt now.  
  
Thankfully, the blur-furred doctor seemed to have sensed my mental whinings and gave me both Tylenol AND a sedative (God bless his soul). I was drifting off to happy-sleepy-land when I heard him exclaim.  
  
"Oh my stars and garters!" He started, and I squinched an eye open...to see him staring at the machine that HAD been hooked up to me and the flat line that was on the screen.  
  
"Right," I sleepily murmured. "That fell out. Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm still alive."  
  
Before I fell asleep, I swear I saw the corners of his mouth turn up.  
  
"You're just like Drake," I also heard him mumble.  
  
...  
  
DRAKE?  
  
You mean, as in BOBBY Drake, right?  
  
The guy I was GOING to slaughter slowly?  
  
I sincerely hope that man - er, doctor - was kidding.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Thanks to ExternalTwin for the review! 


	3. Latent No More

Disclaimer: All the characters here belong to Marvel still, aside from those I made up.  
  
Chapter 3:  
  
By the time I was allowed to get up and move around (and eat solid food by hand and no longer through a tube - I wasn't THAT impaired!), it was three days since the whole telekinesis incident, and I wasn't surprised that my legs couldn't actually support me (try being bed-ridden for four days). It took me about a day before I was finally able to coax my unresponsive limbs into movement - with the help of Dr. McCoy and the bed. Needless to say, it was a painful learning experience - one which I'd rather NOT go through again. There were, however, some people who found it quite funny. I wasn't one of them.  
  
The Professor visited me frequently while I was a living vegetable, and told me about where I was, and what happened in and around the Mansion. I was going to be taught to handle my powers, as they could become more powerful and dangerous and thus out-of-hand, and hopefully find out where the rest of my latent abilities lie. I smiled in relief as he told me that I was going to stay somewhere on the second level of the mansion, although I felt my smile become one of resignation as he told me that I would be attending school as well. I KNEW there was a catch to all this. Oh yes, he said, and I wanted to groan. We would be getting a few new people soon as well, about my age, and they were going to attend the same school as I was going to. And to make things worse, there was to be training. Immediately after school each day.  
  
Wasn't it great?  
  
On my seventh day at the mansion, I was finally released from the Medi. Lab (what it was called - personally, I referred to it as the Torture Chamber, where I was endlessly poked and prodded - AND TORTURED - with instruments that looked like something out of a horror movie). As I gathered up my belongings, I wondered uncertainly as to what was going to happen next. The moment I stepped out the swishy door, my head turned towards the doctor, thanking him for his aid, I hit something hard, and went down forcefully, seeing stars. At first, I thought I had hit the door, although when it made a startled sound in protest, I realized that I had collided with a tall guy, even as I heard Dr. McCoy sigh.  
  
I was sprawled atop the guy's legs, and I felt myself slowly colour as I stared into deep brown eyes. This was getting to be a habit. We must have stared at each other for about an eternity before I heard him ask me something.  
  
"What?"  
  
He sighed. "I asked if you could please get off my legs, Kelsey, before you completely kill my circulation."  
  
Would that matter if I'm still going to HURT you eventually for that jab to my pride several days ago?  
  
I moved anyways. Grumbling under his breath, he got to his feet, and held out a hand to me. I considered refusing it, but sighed, and took it. He was strong, I grudgingly allowed, even though he didn't seem so.  
  
"I'm here to show you to your room," He said, and began leading me towards the stairs that led to the upper levels. We walked in silence, and that suited me fine. I wasn't in the mood for talking. The moment we stepped onto the second level, however, my eyes barely had time to register a moving form before it crashed head-first into me...while I stood at the edge of the staircase. Pin-wheeling my arms, I felt gravity taking hold of me, and with a startled cry, I felt myself fall backwards - onto something cold and hard.  
  
I blinked.  
  
And again, taking in my surroundings. A semi-circular sculpture-like ice shield was what had prevented me from plunging down the stairs I had just climbed, courtesy of my guide, Mr. Iceman, whose right hand was still extended and glowing faintly. I was still on the second floor. Someone was sitting on my lap. An asian-looking girl who was chewing gum. And the seat of my pants were getting wet. VERY wet.  
  
"You must be the new girl," She brightly said, as if crashing into people coming up the stairs was a daily occurence for her. She blew a pink bubble and popped it. "I'm Jubilee. Pleased to meet ya."  
  
I was rapidly losing all feeling in my behind by this time. Nonetheless, I smiled, although it felt plastic. "Kelsey." To my relief, she climbed off me quickly. I estimated her to be in her late teens or barely past that. Was there anyone MY age around here? She thudded down the stairs quickly, and I stood, even as Drake melted the ice-thingy. Dreading the worst, I turned and looked at the back of my jeans (the only one I had). My fears were confirmed.  
  
It looked as though I had peed my pants.  
  
Drake was watching me the whole time, and he laughed. Glare.  
  
"Checking yourself out, Kelsey?"  
  
HARDER glare.  
  
He continued walking down the carpeted corridor, explaining things out to me for all that it was worth. "You'll be staying in the women's wing," HELLO? Did I look like a He-she to you? Did you EXPECT me to live in the men's wing? "Bathrooms - separated, obviously, and are down the hall, and meals are taken downstairs in the kitchen." Okay, and you're telling this to me because they're just obviously NOT straight-forward?  
  
He stopped in front of a door that looked identical to ALL of the others that I had passed on my way here. Then he twisted the knob, and the door swung open. He sketched a bow. "Your room, Milady."  
  
Milady? What was this, the medieval era?  
  
Nonetheless, I stepped inside, my right hand absently travelling to the knob, and was struck by how cosy it looked, especially for something that seemed rather small. With my hand on the doorknob, my gaze swept the room, impressed. First of, it was carpeted. A bed stood proudly in the corner, and directly opposite from it was the closet. A desk stood in the other corner, a sturdy, cushioned chair in front of it. A double-paned window stood ajar, a slight breeze toying with the curtains. A computer was perched upon the desk. And it WORKED! (Why am I so happy, you ask? Try living with a broken computer for two years, with no ways of using it because your excuse for a brother refused to get it fixed and was too lazy to get rid of it, and so it just sat there staring you in the face, taunting you for all it was worth. And the school I had gone to was so poor that they COULDN'T afford computers.)  
  
A sneeze sounded from another room. There was another sneeze, this time louder, and to my surprise, I saw a young woman stagger through the left wall.  
  
THROUGH the fricking wall.  
  
She smiled at me while I was busily gathering up my dropped jaw, and her smile was almost sheepish. "You must be Kelsey, am I right?" I nodded, this time trying to screw my eyeballs back into their respective sockets. She - through - but - the wall - what - how - THROUGH! - Oh, I give up.  
  
"I'm Katherine Pryde, or Kitty," Her grin must have widened at my face, for she explained that her power enabled her to phase through anything solid. "I'm sorry if I scared you," She spoke apologetically, blowing a strand of chestnut hair out of her eyes. "That happens sometimes, I'm afraid. I lose control of my ability when I sneeze, as embarassing as it sounds, and it sometimes sends me phasing through whatever I'm leaning on - like the wall just now." It had something to do with the molecules of her body, and how she was able to...'spread' them apart so that she could drift through unhindered like a apparition.  
  
"Wow," I heard that lone word leave my lips, and I winced inwardly. Predictably, that Drake-guy (whom I had happily forgotten up until he decided to make himself re-known) snorted. I wished that I could shoot myself. Or, even better, him.  
  
"Natural conversationalist, isn't she?" He remarked. I decided then that shooting him would be too merciful. Kitty, however, scowled at him.  
  
"Leave her alone, Bobby," She said, and I immediately liked her. Her voice lowered, directed at me. "Be careful of him," She warned. "His idea of a joke can be perverted."  
  
I smiled wryly. "Believe me, I know."  
  
"I heard that!"  
  
Kitty returned my smile. Then she took her leave, smirking as she walked pass Drake (I later found out that she was merely visting for the summer, and not actually living here. Darn. I could have used some help with Him).  
  
It would be amazing, I mused, to be able to do that. In my mind's eye, I imagined the hand that was on the doorknob becoming almost ghost-like, seeing it pass through the doorknob, misty-looking but yet solid at the same time.  
  
An odd sensation passed through my right hand, and I glanced down. Then I did a double-take, and immediately lost the funny tingling.  
  
The HECK?  
  
My hand was below the doorknob.  
  
"Are you going to stand there all day?" I heard Drake ask me from behind. I shushed him, and upon instinct, repeated what I did, with the whole imagining what would happen if I could phase my hand through objects. Again, I felt my hand take on a weird feeling, and I swept it upwards.  
  
With the both of us watching (as in Drake and me), my right hand passed right (oh look, a pun) THROUGH the knob.  
  
Oh.  
  
Wow.  
  
I could do what Kitty could.  
  
---  
  
"Are you absolutely sure, Bobby?" I heard as I stretched my head in an attempt to better my hearing, as they were trying to keep their voices low. Where was I? Right outside Professor Xavier's office on ground level, beside a barely ajar door, having been fetched after about five minutes in my new room. It was Mr. Professor who was speaking. He had this grave, solemn voice that was easily recognizable (even for me, and my memory stinks). The person beside me (who had fetched me) was watching me amused. Blond hair+blue eyes+southern accent=good-looking.  
  
"Positive, Professor. I was there, remember? I saw her hand pass through the knob, as if she had Kitty's powers." This was Drake, whose voice I'd recognize ANYWHERE. "Could this be part of her latent power?"  
  
"It is most-likely, but I am unsure. I wish I could access her mind, however. It appears that she is well-shielded."  
  
The following silence unnerved me. "You mean - we can't -," This was the red-head...Mrs. Grey? Mrs. Summers?  
  
"Yes, Jean. I tried establishing a link when she was in the Medi-Lab, but she...pushed me aside." Well, this was interesting. I was practically immune from...er, mind-invasions? Something like that.  
  
"Must have been embarassing for you." A new voice, almost guttural and feral. I didn't know who he was, and so craned my neck even farther to catch a glimpse of the speaker. HowEVER..."But I don't need any fancy telepathy to tell that she's listening to every word that we're saying right now."  
  
There was a silence following that proclamation, in which I silently cursed that guy for noticing. Someone must have reached over, for the door closed with an almost mocking click a few moments later.  
  
"Nice try," The guy beside me offered, grinning widely. I rolled my eyes, though I couldn't help returning his grin, although mine was probably laced with frustration. I mean, come on. It was MY life they were most probably discussing in there. Didn't I have a right to know?  
  
"I'm Kelsey Rias." I said in way of introduction.  
  
"Ah'm Sam Guthrie. You must be the new girl people are talking 'bout." News must sure travel fast around here. "How long have you been here?"  
  
Er..."About a week, I guess. Although they were spent in the Torture - I mean, Medi-Lab," I hastily corrected my slip of tongue. His smile widen at my use of the word 'torture.'  
  
"Yeah, ah've been there too. Not too fond of it either."  
  
Pause.  
  
"How long have you been here?" I asked after there was an awkward silence.  
  
He wrinkled his forehead in concentration. "Oh geez, ah don't really know," He confessed after awhile. "It feels like forever since ah first came here, but if you mean as part of the X-Men, then ah'd say several months, give or take a few, ah guess."  
  
"What d'you mean?" Give me an H! Give me a U! Give me another H! Put them together, and give me a HUH? "When you say, 'as part of the X-Men' does that mean that before several months ago, you weren't an X-Men?"  
  
"Yeah. Ah was part of this group called the X-Force. You've probably heard of it...?"   
  
I shook my head. The door swung open suddenly, startling us both, and Sir Drake stepped out. "The Professor wants to speak to you, Kelsey." Then he stepped back in, and the door seemed to yawn intimidatingly, a rift in time. Oh great.  
  
Sam seemed to notice my hesitation, for he leaned over slightly. "Don't worry," He assured. "He won't hurt you."  
  
Right. I knew that. And I supposed he won't bite either?  
  
All the same, I got up, and feeling decisively uneasy, stepped through the gaping void that functioned as a doorway. The Professor was at his desk, and three other people surrounded him. Sir Summers, Lady Jean Grey, and someone who was short, muscled, and intimidating. He watched me as if he was sizing up my every step, waiting for me to make a wrong move, just ONE mistake, so that he'd have an excuse to beat me up.  
  
Resisting the impulse to dash out of the room screaming as if my life depended on it, I stepped forward to the Prof's desk, determined not to show any fear. Although I was convinced that the room's occupants could hear my gulps. But I wasn't scared. Oh no, I wasn't. Merely...cautious. Honest!  
  
"Kelsey," the Prof. began, but my nerves must have made me jumpy, for I immediately cut in.  
  
"Let me guess: Bobby told you what I had done earlier, and you want me to demonstrate it like a circus animal on parade -," I clapped a hand to my mouth. The last several words were NOT supposed to have come out. Mentally kicking myself, I waited for the Professor to berate me, yell at me, scowl, do something un-positive. To my relief, a smile merely quirked upon his lips.  
  
"If you decide to put it that way, yes."  
  
I complied, and imagined my hand as mist. Then, I swept my hand down towards the Professor's desk in a sweeping arc...and through. My eyes bulged, however, as there was a slight crackle in the air, followed by a thin sheet of ice that came from my palm, closely trailing my corporeal hand and wedging itself into the corner of the Professor's desk as my limb entered it. If that made any sense.  
  
Basically, I had just used Kitty's AND Iceman's powers in one shot. And destroyed part of the Professor's desk at the same time.  
  
There was a silence that greeted my performance (ok, there already had been a silence to begin with), one which was broken (unenthusiastically, if I may add) by me.  
  
"So, um...can I go now?"  
  
---  
  
It was perhaps three hours later when I was finally allowed to go. In that time period, I had nearly broken various glass and priceless items, a result of my out of control telekinesis. That combined with the fact that I wanted OUT was enough to frustrate me into venting my anger on those priceless glass objects. They just wouldn't let me go, asking me all sorts of questions and asking me to redo what I'd done. Over and over again. To make things worst, they couldn't figure out what exactly was my power(s), except that it was obviously, "Latent no more." They told me that they wanted me to report to this room called the Danger Room or something tomorrow at about 4pm, so that they could test me on my unlatent powers some more. I must have looked rather appalled at the name (or terrified), for they told me ('they' consisting of the Professor, Mr. Summers, and Mrs. Jean Grey) not to worry. Although at that precise moment, the short, muscled, and intimidating someone (Wolverine, I eventually found out) snorted. And Bobby burst into laughter that sounded slightly maniacal.  
  
I was scared of this 'Danger Room' thing.  
  
Now I'm REALLY scared.  
  
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Please review if you think I should continue...thanks. 


	4. Newbies

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters mentioned below, with the exception of those that I made up.  
  
Chapter 4:  
  
4pm came rather quickly the following day. Needless to say, I was SO not anticipaing it. I had been in my room for just about the whole day, minus all of the basic necessities that involved getting out and moving around, like eating and washrooming (but let's not go there), unpacking my few items and trying to get the DANGED computer to work. How cruel could they get? Put a computer in a girl's room that's OBSOLETE? I wanted to kick it.  
  
By the time Sam came to get me at about the 4pm mark, there was a sizable bruise upon my right foot, and I was limping. I sighed, even as he blinked in astonishment at the smoking computer screen (which had a hole the size of my foot in the center).  
  
Note to self: computer screens DO break if kicked.  
  
"Ah don' think that's supposed to have that." He said uncertainly.  
  
"It's a new style," I replied, limping out the door with a piece of fabric tied tightly around my left leg (EVERYTHING happens to my left side...) in something akin to a tourniquet. Oh yeah, I couldn't feel my left leg. I think I killed the circulation there. Is that a good thing?  
  
"Are you okay?" I turned to see Sam nod in the direction of my left leg, in reference to the limp.  
  
"Oh yeah," I lied, even as pain stabbed viciously and suddenly up the foot I thought I couldn't feel, and as I winced while turning away from his questioning eyes. "I'm good." aND I'm NOT looking forward to that training thing!  
  
Luck was NOT on my side that day, however, when Sam led me into the Danger Room (which didn't look that intimidating), there was no one around. He paused in the doorway, even as I stepped in and looked around, impressed by the nothingess aside from the metal walls and floors, and the glass podium-like area near the top of the room. I squinted my eyes. There wasn't - oh no, there WERE people in it. Oh dang it.  
  
I turned around. Sam was gone. The door had closed, although there was a button near it on the right wall. As I headed towards it, however...  
  
"Kelsey?"  
  
I must have leapt about twice my height when the Professor's voice boomed out my name. From EVERYWHERE around me. In front, behind, above, below, left, right...any and every fricking place possible. And it scared the CRAP out of me.  
  
"Can you hear me clearly?" The voice came again, echoing everywhere around me. Oh no, I really couldn't hear you. You'd have to speak up, yeah?  
  
"Sure," I muttered, shifting my weight onto my right foot as my left foot began throbbing. It was really going to be a problem.  
  
"Good." Pause. "We're going to test you on your strength, fitness, and agility first." WAIT!!! Strength? Speed? Agility? But...but...I SUCK!  
  
"Wait a second!" I yelped in protest, even as he said, "Stand by."  
  
All I got to say is, I entered the Danger Room at about 4:03pm.  
  
I awoke in the Medi-Lab at about 4:05pm. IN the same bed that I had been a week ago.  
  
When I was finally released after a thorough check-up (in which Dr McCoy, for some odd reason, missed my numb left leg), it was about 9:05pm, and as I left, I grabbed a roll of bandages, stuffing it in my palm. Thanking Dr. McCoy, I stepped out of the door, and crashed into someone tall and familiar. I sighed, tapping my fingers against the ground in exasperation, even as I realized that it was Bobby Drake whom I had collided with - again.  
  
"We have got to stop meeting like this," He said, his lips curving into a smile. I merely frowned, glaring at him, although there were suddenly butterflies thudding into each other within my stomach as his smile widened at my behaviour.  
  
When I finally reached my room, my face was burning, and I slammed it shut and slumped down against it, my fingers still clutching tightly onto the bandages.  
  
I was going to have a problem getting even with him if I began liking him even a TEENSY bit, wouldn't I?  
  
---   
  
I just wanna say...  
  
I hate mornings.  
  
And...  
  
I hate perky people.  
  
But ESPECIALLY...  
  
I hate perky people in mornings.  
  
And surprise, surprise, guess how I woke up the following day?  
  
---  
  
"Kelsey! Wake up, Kelsey!" The voice came out of nowhere, energetic and full of life. I heard as the person drew the curtains of my window aside, muttering something about vampires probably being part of my ancestry. Grunting, I merely pulled my blanket more tightly over my head, burrowing deeper into the bed.  
  
The voice sighed, and before I realized what was going on, someone yanked the blanket off my head, and when I opened my eyes blearily in protest and half-rose, Mr Sun greeted my eyes with an evil smile. Moaning, I flopped onto my stomach, burying my head under my pillow.  
  
"G'way, won't ya?" I mumbled into the bed. A hand fell onto my shoulder and began shaking me HARD. I winced as the hand fell on my LEFT shoulder. Ya know, the one which was still sore from the time I met Toothy. The wound wasn't fully healed yet, and it hurt (obviously), along with the bandaged leg I had bound rather sloppily the night before.  
  
Spare me the pain. Just shoot me now.  
  
The voice sighed theatrically, and (thank goodness) the hand let go off me. "C'mon, Kelsey. It's like, 8 am, you know, and Scott never lets anyone sleep in, like, this late!"  
  
"Well then I guess he won't mind me sleeping to 11." Fervently wishing that Jubilee would just PLEASE buzz off, I pulled my blanket out of her grasp and back over my head. Was she on drugs or something? NO ONE could be this hyper in the morning.  
  
"Kelsey! The Professor told me to, like, wake you up! There're people downstairs he wants you to, you know, meet!"  
  
People? Meet? ME?  
  
---  
  
Ten minutes later found me limping down the stairs grumbling under my breath and yawning at the absurdity of waking up so early in the morning. Life was brutal.  
  
Mr. Red-visor was there to greet me when I reached ground level.  
  
"What took you so long? Didn't Jubilee wake you up?"  
  
And I ask you, am I still asleep?  
  
Settling for a tired nod instead, I began heading unsteadily in the direction of the kitchen. Mr. Summers grabbed my arm as I shuffled by him.  
  
"Where do you think you're going?"  
  
I glared at him. Said one word: Coffee.  
  
Hastily, he released his grip on me, and even stepped back a pace. I guess he'd probably had experiences with sleep-deprived females not getting their coffee. Continuing my quest for coffee, I moved past him, ignoring him as he said, "You may want to be careful when drinking the coffee, becau -," His voice cut off as soon as I entered the kitchen, moving out of earshot of him. Found the coffee easily on the counter beside a wall.   
  
Poured a full mug of it.  
  
Downed it.  
  
BAD move.  
  
Because.  
  
I.  
  
CHOKED.  
  
What exactly was this made of? It was STRONG. And, I realized through my splutterings and coughs, not only was I wide awake, but also that the nearby wall was now coffee splattered.  
  
Oh dang. That REALLY wasn't good.  
  
Quickly retreating out of the kitchen, I bumped into Monsieur Summers, who was looking at me expressionlessly. Although I swore that he was trying not to laugh.  
  
"You never told me that the coffee was THAT strong," I sulked.  
  
"I tried. YOU didn't listen. Now come on, you've kept everyone waiting for quite awhile already." With that, Mr. Summers strode away from the stairs and into an adjacent room. Still coughing, I stumbled after him, and paused with one hand on the doorway, catching my breath, my eyes fixed upon one spot of the ground which seemed to be jerking.  
  
"There she is," The Professor's voice rang out throughout the room in that grave voice of his, and that startled me into looking up. There were two guys and a girl standing beside the Professor, along with Mrs. Jean Grey and Dr. McCoy. I absently wondered where Drake was, then proceeded to mentally kick myself for that. "This is Kelsey Rias." He paused for a moment, then continued. "Kelsey, these are the new recruits I told you who would be coming." Newbies? You never told me - oh wait...  
  
The Professor began introducing each one present to me while I studied them with a caffeine-shocked brain. The first guy was tall and slender, with dark green eyes and a shock of red hair. He looked nervous, I noted, as he constantly clenched and unclenched his fists. Can't say I blame him. His name was Shane Gareth, and he looked to be no older than me.  
  
Training my gaze on the second guy, whose name was Ryan Garner, I realized that he was extremely pale. And I don't think it was because of fear - he didn't look the least perturbed. He reminded me of an seraphic ghost, with his bleach-blond tousled curls, pale blue eyes, and somewhat angelic face. He was about my height, and was noticeably muscular.  
  
When I turned my eyes on the girl, however, I felt my eyes widen, and then grow larger than it was. She was shorter than I was, with a tumbled mess of black hair that fell just past her shoulders, and had large brown eyes. Her tanned complexion added to her appearance, but standing beside Ryan made me immediately think of burnt toast (not that I'm trying to be racist or something) But what had caused my eyes to bulge twice and fall out (and I am now screwing them back in) was those appendages upon her shoulder blades or so. She, Cathryne Parri, had beautiful silver-hued and feathered wings. They ruffled every so often, shimmering in a myriad of ethereal colours as the sunlight streamed in through the windows.  
  
"Stop staring, yo? Y'look like y've not seen anyone like me before." Someone said rather irritatedly, and it took me awhile to realize that the speaker was Cathryne. She was glaring at me icily. "And y'shou'd close y'mouth. Y're real' rude, y'know tha'?"  
  
Whaaaat?!?!  
  
"Hey, gimme a break," I spluttered. "You're the first person I've ever seen with wings, ok?" I watched as her feathers twitched almost in agitation at the sound of my voice, then settle down warily.  
  
"Fine," She muttered. "But I stil' think tha' y're rude."  
  
Her accent was really beginning to grate on my nerves. What kind of an accent was tha' - THAT?  
  
"I'm. Sorry. Alright?" I managed. She gave me this smile that made my blood freeze. It was a smile that conveyed tones of yes-i-forgive-you, but I SWEAR was also predatorial and EVIL.  
  
I shuddered.  
  
The Prof. led the group through the mansion, and I just tagged along because I had nothing else better to do. He pointed out the upstairs, downstairs, dining room, washrooms, Danger Room, War Room, His room (His room?), Medi-Lab, Kitch -   
  
The Professor stopped in mid-sentence even as he entered the kitchen, and stared at the spot where I had created a masterpiece of spluttered coffee. He didn't need telepathy to figure out who the cause of that stain was. All he said was, "Clean it up after this, Kelsey," even as I mentally cursed.  
  
To make things worse, the Professor ended off the 'tour' by saying that SHE was going to be residing in the room adjacent to mine. AND that she was going to be attending the same school as I was. AND training was to be with me also. Upside was that the two guys (good-looking ones, if I may add - hey, I'm a girl, so I get to be all over guys.) were also going to be involved in whatever we'd be doing.  
  
Although I wonder if that's a good thing. Especially if they're like her.  
  
THAT made me shudder again.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Thanks to those who reviewed! If you still think I should continue, please review...thanks. I need the support...;) 


	5. Wrath

Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine, aside from those that I made up.  
  
Chapter 5:  
  
Ever had one of those days when you JUST wanna rip your own hair out?  
  
Or, in my case, someone's FEATHERS out?  
  
Even better, both?  
  
Probably not. Unless, of course, your name just so happens to be Kelsey Carol Selena Rias. Unless you just so happen to be a sixteen year old femme mutant whose powers included telekinesis and who knows what else. And UNLESS you've resided for three days next to a winged demoness whose name is Cathryne Parri. Who is, incidentally, number one on my to-kill list by a long, LONG shot (Bobby Drake comes in a definite second). That is, if I ever consider becoming a psychotic-killer - which is seriously sounding better by the minute.  
  
Even my DREAMS were on murdering our feathered friend (not really MY feathered friend, but you get the drift)  
  
I'm not too overly fond of her, in case you hadn't noticed.  
  
Why, you ask? There are reasons: 1) She made it clear on the second day that she didn't like me (her exact words were, "I don' like y'at all, y'know."); 2) She just HAS to comment on EVERYTHING I say; and 3) She got a WORKING COMPUTER in her room, darn it! (Mine was being sent for repairs, and I wouldn't see it for at least a week. AND I had to partially pay for the repairs. Dang.)  
  
And the list doth go on and on and on...  
  
---  
  
Monday dawned bright and clear, although I was up before most of the household was (which I found shocking, considering my aversion to mornings. Blame it on Mr. Wake-up-at-6am-or-else-Summers. It's all his fault). Recently, I've been going into the (HUGE) front yard in front of the mansion, watching (as I have done for the past year or so - WHENEVER I bothered to drag my lazy butt out of bed) as the sun rose every morning , its rays scattering across the sky, dividing it into rows of myriads of breath-taking colours. It was a beautiful scene, and the blessed silence around me was a major difference to the bustle of the mansion. It gave me time to reflect, to take a break from the world around -   
  
"Wha't'heck are y'doing out here?"  
  
Sereness shattered, and the sunrise just about became a sunset, even as I grounded my teeth and turned to face Cathryne. She was dressed entirely in black, and her hair looked wind-blown and tousled, while her cheeks were tinged slightly with the redness of...exhiliration?  
  
"Who died?" I retorted, eying her choice of clothing with a raised eyebrow. Don't get me wrong - I have NOTHING against the colour black. It just seemed suspicious for her to be wearing such clothing on a day which promised a hot afternoon. "And why are YOU out here?"  
  
Cathryne shrugged slightly. "Fel' like it."  
  
"This early?"  
  
"Same could be said for y', y' know." She yawned then, long and tired. Realization dawned upon me then.  
  
"You've been up - OUT - the whole night, haven't you?"  
  
She glared at me, and I knew I was right. "Announce it t't'whole world, won' y'?"  
  
"Why were you gone? Where?"  
  
Cathryne rolled her eyes. "Y'think I'm going t'tell y'tha'?"  
  
Yes. "No, but I have the alternative of telling the Professor." God, THAT sounded so childish. 'I'm telllling!'  
  
The winged girl rolled her eyes again. "Y' mom never warned y'bout tattling? How quaint, especially since y'manners ain' tha' great either. Didn' do a good job, did she?"  
  
A chill went down my spine. "Don't you DARE bring my mother into this."  
  
"A bit t'late, no?" She smirked, and anger struck me straight on. "Wha's t' matter? Y' mom abandon y' at birth? Even know who - "  
  
I never gave her a chance to finish. Or maybe she did, but I was too caught up in the moment to listen to her. Instead, I rose to my feet, and willed the stone bench I had been sitting on into the air behind me. Cathryne's smirk became a weak grin when she saw it floating, and she began backing away slowly from me.  
  
"Hey look, I didn' mean wha' I said..."  
  
"LIAR!" In my wrath, the stone flew in her direction, and she was barely able to dodge aside. Instead, it crashed into a nearby wall, splintering into a million pieces (both the wall and the bench). Cathryne shot me a look that I would have classified as fright, and took to the sky, even as I spotted another bench. Grimly willing it to rise, taking aim even as my head began throbbing with the beginnings of a headache, I was ready to throw it at an air-borned Cathryne when a hand clamped on my wrist. My concentration shattered, as did the bench (which fell from my telekinetic grasp - I think it was obvious I had been playing with my TK, right?), and I whirled around...to encounter familiar eyes.  
  
"What the heck do you think you're doing, Kelsey?" He said rather incredulously, and I glowered at him, trying to ignore the fast-developing migraine.  
  
"What does it look like I'm trying to do?" I retorted, struggling to get free. Imposing my will upon the jagged shards of stone on the ground, I began flinging them at her in a pathetic attempt to hurt that fricking -   
  
His grip tightened, killing my concentration once again. Migraine settled, and I winced. "Trying to kill her?"  
  
"You're so smart," I answered sulkily, and once more willed the pieces of stone to rise. They did so rather wobbily.  
  
He shook my arm, destroying my concentration AGAIN. He just rose on my to-kill list to NUMBER ONE.  
  
"Why? What did she do to you?" He persisted, and I rounded on him.   
  
"What did she do to me? WHAT did she DO to me? That - that winged b - she just insulted my MOTHER, and you're asking WHAT SHE DID TO ME?" I spun on Cathryne and pointed an accusing finger at her, who cowered back as if I could incinerate her just by sticking my finger in her direction. Yeah right. I wish.  
  
"Do YOU have a mother?" I felt myself snarl out, and Cathryne nodded almost timidly. "Well GUESS what, Parri. I DON'T FRIGGING HAVE ONE!" I knew I was shouting by this time, but hey, it's not my fault I was over-reacting. I WARNED her not to drag my mother into our argument. Plus I hadn't had coffee yet. Too early in the morning.  
  
"My MOTHER, the one who never taught me my MANNERS, as YOU SO SAID, ABANDONED me when I was NINE, following my father's FUNERAL. I BET that sort of thing never happened to you, huh, Parri?" She shrank back even though I was at least ten metres away from her, shaking her head vigorously. "I thought not. My MOTHER left me with my BROTHER - who, incidentally, wants me DEAD - and it has been SEVEN YEARS since I last spoke to her." I paused for breath, feeling something warm prickling at the corners of my eyes, and remembered the migraine abruptly. That's when I realized the quietness. The absolute, dead silence that, when I looked around, belonged to just about the entire household, half of whom were leaning out their windows in shock and sleepily, while the other half was in front of the mansion door. All ofthem were staring at me.  
  
"Chere," The crimson-eyed guy - Gambit/Remy - spoke, his arm around the emerald-eyed woman's waist - Rouge? No, Rogue. "I know y' probably aren't dat happy right now, but some of us are trying t' sleep, y' know." He didn't look too happy when he said that. Come to think of it, no one seemed happy.  
  
Great. Now the entire household probably hated me.  
  
The Professor wheeled his way to the front, and he too (what surprise) didn't look too happy. "My office, you three. NOW." Three? Oh yeah, three - Parri, me, and the guy who was still holding on to my arm.  
  
"You can let go now," I snapped, and he immediately released his hold on me, blinking. As I stalked towards the mansion entrance, the gathered crowd of people parted, allowing me to get through. My head was pounding terribly by now.  
  
And of course, Bobby Drake JUST had to voice his thoughts.  
  
"Is she PMSing or something?"  
  
WHAT!  
  
Spinning on my left leg, which nearly gave way under the sudden strain, my hand formed into a fist on its own accord, and found its way to his jaw. He went down, and I smiled grimly.  
  
With as much dignity as I could muster, I began limping to the entrance. Someone behind me - I think it was Mr. Cyclops or something - must have noticed the oh-so-noticeable limp, for aloud he said, "What's wrong with your left foot, Kelsey?"  
  
"Nothing." I replied defensively, even as I winced and entered the mansion. I heard someone cough out something that sounded like "anger management" and I sighed as the door closed behind me.  
  
Life wasn't going too good, I decided, trudging towards the Professor's office.  
  
I should write a book. Get it published...  
  
...nah. Knowing my luck, I'd probably get sued by some famous writer in the end.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Zurizip: Jubilee's powers are plasma fireworks, and Gambit's powers enable him to charge up objects with kinetic energy. Something like that, I think. I hope I've helped you...=)  
  
LEM: Thank you. Keep on reviewing and I'll keep on writing,  
  
MidnightRebel: Glad to hear you like it. =) I enjoy your story lots as well, so please keep writing!  
  
2 lazy 2 sign in: Don't worry. I won't make her too powerful. She has flaws, and if you want to find out, please keep reading...  
  
rose @---: Don't worry. I'll keep writing (if you think I should).  
  
ExternalTwin: Thanks, and I'll cut back on the cussing.  
  
A/N: Sorry that this chapter took so long, people...with school and all going on, it's really stressful. As well, a writer's block ambushed me. This was just about what happened...  
  
"AHHH! DIE! DIE!" *insert maniacal laughter here*  
  
Ahem.  
  
Please keep reviewing if you think I should keep writing.  
  
(And thanks to those who had reviewed earlier.) 


	6. What D'ya Mean, SENTINELS?

Disclaimer: The same that it has always been, so don't sue me.  
  
A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update! School's brutal. That's all I gotta say.  
  
Chapter 6: What D'ya Mean, SENTINELS?  
  
"So what's the big deal with this mornin'?" Sam yawned, running a hand through his hair as he came into the parlor, even as I glowered at him from my fetal position on the couch. "Ya and that gal? What was with the yellin'?"  
  
"Nothing you'd understand," I defensively grated. A typical bratty teenager-like behaviour, but hey, I WAS a teenager, after all. A misunderstood one. So I'm whining - but it's not my fault. Really. I swear.  
  
The Professor didn't have the same ideology as I did, though - heck, he just said that my behaviour to Cathryne - "The Bird" as I now call her - was unwarranted, and that I had no right spazing out on her. And that I would be grounded if I ever did anything like that again.  
  
Stupid, in my opinion. The Professor didn't appreciate me voicing my sentiments though, and told me that (and I SWEAR this guy's mental) I had a Danger Room session at 3pm.  
  
And he had the NERVE to tell me to stay alive for at least a minute.  
  
Man, the truth hurts. But that was still incredibly MEAN!  
  
"Try me," Sam said suddenly, and I looked up, surprised to find him sitting on the glass coffee table in front of me.  
  
"You're still here?" He ignored my comment.  
  
"Try me. You said ah wouldn't understand ya. Why don't you try explaining everything to me - or as much as ya want, that is. It might help you in some way."  
  
My mouth fell open. "You're meaning an anger management session."  
  
That elicited a smile from him. "If ya want ta put it that way, sure."  
  
"No way -," I began, but when he arched an eyebrow, I sighed. "Oh, fine. But can we go somewhere where we'll be - " I stopped in midsentence, realizing how bad that sounded.  
  
"Alone?" He supplied, and I flushed, nodding. His smile widened. "Ah know what ya mean, Kelsey, and ah know just the place where we won't be disturbed..."  
  
---  
  
"You are one SICK individual," I shouted, even as I dodged a projectile. Oh, he sure as heck wasn't kidding when he said that we'd be somewhere uninterrupted.  
  
Of course, I hadn't realized that he'd be leading me right into the thick of a full scale battle between these VERY-big-and-tall-purple doll/robots and US.  
  
Yep. The bloody Danger Room.  
  
"I thought you said explicitly,'won't be DISTURBED'?" I yelled, diving to the side even as a blast obliterated the spot where I once stood.  
  
"Well, we won't," He replied, taking to the sky - uh, roof. A fiery-gold aura blossomed into existence around him the moment he shot into the sky - ROOF, and I felt my jaw drop and hit the ground.  
  
"You - you can FLY?"  
  
He swooped down towards me, shoving me out of the path of a boot. Involuntarily (and I shudder every time I think back upon this time in my life), I screamed as it came down hard on Sam, and instinctively flung my hand out at the doll/robot - which, for some odd reason, was starting to look familiar, as if I had seen something like that before in my life - and I don't mean Barney.  
  
Like it had done a few days ago, ice poured out of the palm of my hand, and struck the purple thing full force, freezing it in position. My head almost immediately began to ache, and I blinked in confusion, momentarily disorientated.  
  
Then it went away. And at that precise moment I realized too that if Sam had survived the foot-coming-down-on-head incident, I had just frozen the robot/doll that now stood immobile upon him. In short, he was trapped.  
  
Aww, man, what do you mean I trapped him? My only ticket outta this cursed place was under this sculpture I had created!  
  
The remaining purples simultaenously raised their hands, as if hailing me, and I nearly returned it before realizing what I was doing, barely checking my self in time. And I had this nauseating feeling in the pit of my stomach, as their palms began to glow.  
  
I had approximately three seconds to do something before I got roasted. Alive.  
  
One.  
  
My mind drew up a blank, and I just stood there like a sitting - I mean, standing - duck, watching with my mouth slack. Terror bubbled up inside of me, and, overwhelmed by my emotions, knowing that death was only a moment away...I sat down. And now became a sitting duck.  
  
Two.  
  
Stared as their palms grew even brighter, almost like a supernova being born. And then, from out of nowhere, it hit me. No, the robot/doll thingie didn't hit me - it was GOING to, but it wasn't what struck me. What did hit me was enough to make me fall SITTING down.  
  
THREE.  
  
As one, bolts of power shot out of their palms and straight at me, the centerpiece. A whimper escaped my lips even as I screwed my eyes shut and huddled into a ball. Then, a voice from above thundered, "END THIS NOW!"  
  
Okay, not quite. More like a voice from below hollered barely audibly, "End program."  
  
Hesitantly, I opened my eyes when nothing hit me, uncurling from my position jerkily. And stared around.  
  
The purple things disappeared. The streaking bolts disappeared. The pieces of loose debris disappeared. The ice sculpture remained though, and even as I watched dully, it exploded into thousands of now-flying shards, bursting in all directions. One grazed me on the cheek, but I barely noticed as a glowing Sam rocketed out from the disaster.   
  
At least he wasn't dead...  
  
Swooping into the air, he lithely alighted vertically beside me, and the moment his feet touched the ground the aura-thing vanished.  
  
"What was that?" I gestured limply at him, implying his powers.  
  
"My ability," He stated, sitting beside me. "Ah can generate this forcefield which propels me into the air. Ah'm also invulnerable while ah'm 'blasting'." The simple way he had said that came nowhere close to arrogance, and that made my respect of him rise a notch.  
  
"So then," I groped for the right words. "what's your, um, codename?"  
  
"Cannonball."  
  
"Oh." I was silent for a moment. "Were you - were you one of the people w-who rescued me that day?"  
  
If the question surprised him, he didn't show it. "Yeah." Was all that he said.  
  
Something was nagging me in the corner of my brain, but I couldn't remember what. It had something to do with being hurt by Toothy...then being on a plane or something...then - wait, what was that -   
  
Then an entirely different memory whammed into me, the same one which had occured to me when those robot-things were attacking me. My eyes widened. I remember seeing those things before...  
  
"Oh God. Sam!" I shrieked, even though he was sitting right next to me. "Those things! Those - they were - weren't they - I was - SENTINELS?! You set us up against SENTINELS?"  
  
"Hey, calm down, Kelsey!" He griped my shoulders. "What goes on in here is like in real life, but ya can't die in here. It's to train ya for the real thing. An' look," He gestured at the wet puddles on the ground (which immediately made me think of dog pee...). "You would've destroyed a Sentinel if ya were really facing it, you know? For a beginner, you're pretty good."  
  
Er, second time, actually, but I'll just forget to mention that to him. I still hate this place though.  
  
And - aw, sheez - I'd have to come back at 3pm!  
  
Sam cleared his throat in the awkward silence. "So...are ya gonna tell me, or should ah just leave?"  
  
I sighed, picking at invisible lint on my jeans. "Fine. But I warn you, it might get boring."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
MidnightRebel: I agree wholeheartedly on that whole security thing...I find it SO irritating. There's gonna be more rivalry, I assure thee...and what's a Mary-Sue?  
  
eeyore: Thank you! XD  
  
Feedback is muchly, greatly appreciated... 


	7. Disbelief, Part 1

Disclaimer: None of Marvel's characters belong to me *sob*. Everyone else is a product of my twisted mind.  
  
Chapter 7:  
  
I traced my hand on the floor, my fingers forming a mindless swirl that was visible only to me. "I have a brother," I began. "and his name's Hayden. Hayden Trey Rias." My hand splayed flat several inches above the ground, and ice poured from my hands as I thought of his face with brimming hatred, a sculpture of his likeness forming rapidly. A headache materialized from out of nowhere, and I winced slightly. It came out of nowhere, and I wondered why. "He was born 5 years before I was. I guess that would make him the older of us two."  
  
"Ah would never have guessed." Sam murmured. "Hey - you're bleedin'! Your cheek -,"  
  
I narrowed my eyes at him. "That's trivial." I really didn't care if my cheek was bleeding. I've been hurt worse.   
  
He motioned at me to continue.  
  
"Our life was as normal as one could get, I guess. My mom was a florist, my dad a jeweller. Both were professionals - or as professional as one could get tending flowers and creating and repairing jewellery. Hayden was starting Grade 1 when I was born. He was always the brain of my family." I smiled, though it felt bitter.  
  
"My brother was also the one who was born attractive. He broke hearts like it was nobody's business. He even once said that they meant nothing to him, even joked that he'd be forever single, or might even find someone of the same sex. Anyways, he finally did find a girl, and this was when I was seven. Or eight. Or was it nine?" I frowned, and Sam sighed.  
  
"Does it matter?"  
  
I shrugged. "I guess not. Her name was Tia, I think. Or was it Sarah?"  
  
"Kelsey!"  
  
I jumped"Sorry! Okay, where was I...oh, yes. I was only 8 when they started seeing each other. it looked promising, I remember my mother telling me once. She had seemed really happy for the two of them." A lump formed in my throat from out of nowhere, and I swallowed it down. I couldn't start now. That would be bad. That would be girlish.  
  
"Then something happened when I was 9. I don;t know what, but one day Hayden just came home without Tia. See, she always came over daily. I liked her. She was always nice to me. Gave me a gift everyday." I was blabbing by now, but I didn't like the part that came next. And I had to take my mind off the re-rising lump. Blasted thing. What was wrong with me anyway?  
  
"Yeah, anyways, Hayden came home, and it was just him and my dad. My mom had gone out. I was still at school. It was lunch-time though, so I was going home for awhile. The moment I laid my hand on the door however, I heard my brother shouting at my dad, something about mutants and his girlfriend. Something about mutants having done something to his girlfriend Lyra. Yes, that's her name. Lyra Comerelli."  
  
Something squeezed out of the corner of my eye. I caught the offending droplet quickly. "I don't remember what exactly they were yelling about. I jut remember a lot of screaming, a lot of crashes - and I - I remember -," This time I couldn't hold back those bleedin' tears. Crap. Great time to look feminine. Why couldn't I have been born a guy?  
  
"Ya don't have to do this, Kelsey," Sam quietly said. "Ah'm not forcin you to do anything."  
  
"I started it, I'm going to finish it." I retorted, dashing away the collecting moisture. I licked my lips, tasting the salt. "I remember a g-gunshot going off. B-boom - just like that. And - and - oh God, and there was a - a silence after t-that. And I knew - I mean, I was nine, but I still knew...that - that -," I couldn't continue, and instead bowed my head, my hands lying placidly on the melting ice sculpture I had created and forgotten of Hayden's likeness.  
  
"That ya dad had just been shot?" Sam finished soberly. I didn't look up. "Ah'm sorry, Kelsey. Ah shouldn't have asked."  
  
Oh, don't give me that. "Forget it." I shortly replied, my tears vanishing with a supreme effort. "It's in the past. The past can't come back to haunt me." Not really anyway. "Everything else just went downhil from then. My dad's body was taken away. My mom disappeared for a week, reappearing only for my dad's funeral. I never saw her again." I shrugged, trying my hardest to appear as nonchalant as possible. My mother's disappearance didn't bother me. Much. "I lived with my brother from that day on, until Sabretooth came after me and, uh, you know..." This was a touchy subject. I do NOt enjoy mentioning about my past hurts. It's painful.  
  
He smiled slightly. "Until we found ya, ah know." He got up, extending a hand for me, one which I accepted upon realizing that BOTH my feet had fallen asleep. He walked with me out the door.  
  
"You know, Sam," I hesitated. "Thanks. I guess."  
  
"You guess?" He arched an eyebrow. I wrinkled my nose at him. "Then ah guess ya're welcome. Oh yeah - one more thing." It was my turn to arch an eyebrow at him. "Yesterday and the day before or so you were limpin'. Today ya're not. How come?"  
  
My mind drew a blank, until I remembered the incident with the computer. "Oh, uh - I dunno." I replied intelligently - not. But Sam was right. I wasn't limping any longer. I didn't know why.  
  
"Maybe you're like Wolverine." He mused. "He has a healing factor. Maybe ya do as well. But then you're still bleeding though..." He began walking off, mumbling to himself.  
  
I stared at his retreating back, remembering my cheek when he reminded me, then shrugged, wiping away the blood with the back of my hand. Then I glanced at my watch. It was 2:39pm. I groaned. I had just been in there for about 3 hours, and within 20 minutes I would have to return for yet another bout with death.  
  
I jump for joy. Whoopdeedo.  
  
I settled down by the door to wait. No point in going back upstairs to change and then coming back down to have my clothes (all courtesy of the X-Mansion, thank goodness...I couldn't afford anything on my own) fried. I should really unpack my stuff sometime soon. Okay, that was really random, but I HAD to do something to pass the 20 minutes, right?  
  
---  
  
HA!  
  
I showed the Professor!  
  
He told me to stay alive for more than a minute before initiating the program...and I DID! I showed him I could do it! I showed him that I wasn't THAT pathetic!  
  
I stayed 'alive' for TWO minutes!  
  
---  
  
Jubilee accosted me on the way out of the Medi-Lab, where I had undergone repair to my cheek and to my entire right side of my body. It STILL felt kinda tingly from the after-effects of the electric shock...  
  
"Sooooooo...Kelsey...," She near-purred. A warning chill went down my spine. That tone only meant one thing. It started with T, ended with E, and went for 7 letters long.  
  
"Um, hi?"  
  
"Rough time in the Danger Room?"  
  
What do you think? I merely glared at her in response.  
  
"Wanna chill for a while?"  
  
More alarm bells. I should have heeded my Internal Warning System...but I was tired, and didn't want to anything. I just wanted to flop onto my bed and pass out for the rest of the day. Instead...  
  
"Doing what?" I yawned.  
  
She grinned happily. "Come with me."  
  
I complied. BAD move. But how was I supposed to know that I would be sealing my fate for all of eternity?  
  
---  
  
"Oh, not YOU too," A familiar voice moaned, and I blanched, spinning onto the person.  
  
"What are YOU doing here?" I managed to choke out. It was, naturally, Bobby Drake, sporting the bruise I gave him on his jaw. He rubbed it ruefully as I glared at him.  
  
"Same reason you two are, ah s'pose," Another familiar voice spoke up from the left, and I turned to see Sam rubbing the back of his neck in resignation.  
  
"Alright guys...WHAT'S going on?" I said before anyone else spoke.  
  
Drake shot me a wry smile. "We're going shopping, Kelsey. Or rather, Jubes is going shopping. We're her prisoners of war."  
  
I stared at him. Then I laughed. Nervously. "No, seriously, guys."  
  
He arched an eyebrow at my reaction. "Don't die from the shock, but I AM being serious."  
  
I blinked slowly at him.  
  
Jubilee's voice piped up from out of nowhere. "In, guys! I'm driving!"  
  
Simultaenously, Sam and Drake groaned. I moaned.  
  
"Can I NOT go?" I whined.  
  
"Call it payment for this morning." She retorted, and a rude noise emerged from the back of my throat.  
  
"That was SO NOT my fault," I argued. "That moron got -," Jubilee glared at me, and something akin to multi-coloured firework-things sparked from her fingers menacingly. They looked DANGEROUS. Cowered into submission, my words died in my throat as I hastily ducked my head and slipped into the backseat of the vehicle, as did Drake, sighing.   
  
"Oh, thanks," Sam glared at the both of us, and sat in the passenger seat. Jubilee got into the driver's seat, starting the engine with an unhealthy delight.  
  
Then it hit me as to who I was sitting beside.  
  
"Hey! I don't wanna sit by HIM!"  
  
The HIM snickered. "Reeeal mature, Kelsey."  
  
"Oh, shut up."  
  
---  
  
Five minutes later, Jubilee skidded to a halt crookedly in a parking slot, killing the engine and sliding out of the car in one smooth movement. And us? The sudden lack of momentum threw all of us forward, and I winced as my face was squashed into the back of Jubilee's seat, as was Bobby's into Sam's seat.  
  
"Who EXACTLY was insane enough to give her her license?" The words spilled from my mouth as I staggered out of the side door. Jubilee ignored me, but smiled brilliantly, brandishing a fan of gold and silver cards - none of which boasted her name on, I later found out - and counting them with a perverse glee.  
  
"Blame Scott," Drake swallowed, and his face looked a little green. "It's because of him she ended up driving."  
  
"Oh, come on, guys." She said with an insulted look on her face. "It wasn't that bad."  
  
"Says you, but we know better," He muttered. She heard him, and shot him a glare so hot it would have melted anything he would have made out of ice.  
  
"Ah think - we should - split up." Sam hastily said through gulps of (fresh) air. He reached into his pocket, pulling out an unnaturally long list. "Seems like - everyone - needs somethin' - or - another."  
  
"I'll go with you," Drake quickly volunteered. I growled at him as best I could.  
  
"No, I'LL go with him. You can go with Jubilee. It's fairer - I mean, a girl and a guy in each group."  
  
"But I'm always paired with Bobby whenever we go shopping," Jubilee whined. "Do I have to go with him? I'd rather go with either you or Sam." She looked at her watch. "And can we hurry? It's, like, almost four, you know."  
  
"That's fine with me," Drake quickly countered, entirely ignoring Jubilee's last comment. "How 'bout you go with Sam and Kelsey then, and I'll go alone and do the shopping for Sam?"  
  
"Ya ain't weaseling out of this one, Bobby. Ah ain't gonna let you. Look, it's not goin' to hurt if -," I sighed, tuning out of the conversation. I really didn't give a cahoot about who I would be paired up with. I just wanted to sleep. Go back and sleep.  
  
A shout caught my attention, and I turned in time to see an elderly woman pointing at a man clutching a handbag. How typical. A young man robbing an elderly. Either that or the woman just wanted the bag which the man had.  
  
"Thief!" The woman shrilly declared. "That bas- " Whoa! Strong language usage here! " - has my purse!"  
  
The would-be mugger fled in our direction, and I deliberately stuck my foot out at the last possible second, sending him sailing through the air as I caught the flying handbag a second later. He groaned, and focused his attention on me. He had shifty gray eyes, and really dirty and crooked teeth. But his clothes were clean. And that struck me as very odd.  
  
"You frigging bi-," People! What's with the swearing today? "I'm gonna get you for that! You just wait - I'll murder you!"  
  
Drake was on him in a second, his hand gripping the thief's collar and lifting him into the air at least five inches above the ground. The thief was short. AND Drake was tall. "I suggest you apologize sometime soon," He suggested amiably. "That's not how you talk to m - a girl." Wow. He was actually sticking up for me. This felt weird. And at that precise moment, I felt a wave of anger wash over me. Then, the sensation disappeared, leaving me feeling decisively hollow. And yet I couldn't shake off the sense of deja vu. It was as if I had felt this sort of a sensation before...but where?  
  
The young adult spat at him in defiance. "Apologize to HER? Sh-," Another swear. "-man, I don't goddamn need to apologize! That fu - ," Oh, the profanities. "girl tripped me up! Sticking her nose into things she damn well shouldn't! I ain't make me friggin' apologize!"  
  
Bobby narrowed his eyes at him, and when he spoke, I shivered, though it must have been at least 25 degrees (Celsius) out. His voice sounded unnaturally wintry and brittle. Icy cold. An "Oh?" was all that he said. Ice began forming on the runt's sideburns. His eyes widened.  
  
"Stinkin' mutie!" He hollered, his eyes large with fright. Luckily, there was no one around to here his exclamation. With a disgusted look on his face, Bobby flung him to the side. He scampered away, but not without shooting me one last look of pure hatred. And without a parting thought that warmed me to the heart.  
  
"I'll get you one day, mutie! I'll KILL you! I swear it!"  
  
Then he was gone, leaving me standing there holding the handbag.  
  
"You okay?" Sam asked worriedly. I nodded, shivering again. His words felt like a premonition. It was enough to unnerve me. I turned to the woman, jerkily walking towards her. She got to her feet, and gently took the outstretched handbag I proffered to her. Thank goodness she didn't seem to care that we were all mutants.  
  
"Thank you, Miss...?"  
  
"Kelsey," I replied. Then I blinked. For a split second she looked like someone I recognized. Blink. The image was gone. Just a figment of my imagination. "Kelsey Rias."  
  
I turned to walk back towards the other three, who were back to their bickering. I snorted. We were going to be here all day. This was just about guaranteed.  
  
"Kelsey...Rias?" The woman behind me whispered. I turned back to her.  
  
"Yes?" That's what I said, if I recall...  
  
There was an odd look on her face now, and she looked like she wanted to cry. I frowned puzzledly. " 'Scuse me, but do I know you?"  
  
The woman reached beneath the neck of her sweater, and pulled out a beautifully carved heart-shaped pendant, half green, half blue, split down the middle and strung on two different chains, both of which she wore around her neck. I knew they were respectively an emereald and a sapphire. And I only knew of ONE person in the world who had this sort of a pendant. SOMEONE whose husband was - had been - a professional jeweller, one who's work surpassed most, if not all, of his other colleagues. But it was probably just coincidence. Right?  
  
"Has it really been that long, Kelsey Carol Selena Rias? You - you don't remember me?"  
  
Wrong. It wasn't just coincidence. I remembered her now. She hadn't changed much since six years ago. Since I was ten. I couldn't control the scream that burst from my lips. I couldn't help it. I had just found someone that had been gone for the past several years.  
  
"MOM?"  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
A/N: And so chapter 7 ends. *Wince* I thought the ending was kinda obvious though...Opinions? Feedback? Reviews (*hint hint*)?   
  
MidnightRebel: I still don't like the security...takes longer for me to log in and check to see if each story is updated or not. Oh well.  
  
Zero-0 & angelbelle-ariana: Thank you! XD 


	8. Disbelief, Part 2

Disclaimer: As usual...those mine are mine, and those not aren't mine.  
  
Chapter 8:  
  
What if you knew someone who had left you when you were younger for unknown reasons, and suddenly, when you least expected it, he or she turned up? How would you react? How would you greet that person? Coolly, acting distant and detached? Ecstatically, throwing your arms around that person and hugging them like there's no tomorrow? Angrily, demanding to know why they disappeared? Tearily, breaking down and crying as if a miracle had just been granted to you?   
  
I didn't know what to do. I wanted to do all of the above.  
  
Can you blame me?  
  
This person standing right in front of me was someone I hadn't thought I'd ever see again. Someone who had left me and my brother without any explanation when I was nine. Someone who was my own mother.  
  
Mom. The word sounded so odd, unused...alien. It tasted funny when I sounded it. Or rather, hollered it.  
  
The other three came a-running. Sam was the first to reach me, and he skidded to a halt several inches away from me. Bobby couldn't stop himself from colliding with Sam, and their momentum - combined a second later with Jubilee's - carried them forward...into ME.  
  
There was a thump as we all went down, with me at the bottom of the pile. In front of my mom.  
  
"Sorry," Sam sheepishly muttered, pushing an amused Bobby off of his lap, his face turning red with embarassment. With a huff, Jubilee got up, followed by Bobby, and lastly, Sam, who turned and proffered his hand, one which I glared at before I took it, struggling to my feet. There was an awkward silence as I turned to the - my mom.  
  
"So, um, this is your mom?" Jubilee hesitantly said. I didn't say anything. My mom, however, seemed to have gotten over her initial shock of seeing me, and turned to Jubilee with a wide smile on her face.  
  
"You must be one of Kelsey's friends." No duh, right? "I'm her mom, Helen Rias." She then proceeded to grab a startled Jubilee's hand and shake it. Then she turned to Bobby and Sam, shaking theirs too. "Pleased to meet you!" She turned to me, mouthing the words 'They're cute.' Only they came out as a loud whisper that ALL of them heard.  
  
MOTHER!  
  
Bobby's jaw dropped, and I saw Sam colour even more. I squeezed my eyes shut, feeling my cheeks burn. Oh dear God. I should really stop taking His name in vain, but I couldn't help it. I wish I could bury my head into the ground. I couldn't believe that my mom was acting like...like THAT.  
  
Oh, how mortifying! How could my mom do that in front of THEM? So WHAT if they WERE cute? That's not something to talk about in public!   
  
Where was that foul-mouthed mugger? I think I'll take up his offer of him killing me right about now. Anything to save me from THIS!  
  
Someone slid their arm through mine, forcing me to gasp and open my tightly shut eyes. Surprise, surprise...it was my mom. She was really starting to scare me.  
  
"Let's go inside, and you can tell update me on everything," She giggled. "And you can tell me who those two hotties are."  
  
I wanted to cry. Oh God, PLEASE spare me the humiliation! I don't need this! I promise I'll be good from now on!  
  
I'm beginning to wish that I never did find my mother. None of this would have happened!  
  
The cruelty...  
  
---  
  
"Your mom's, um, something," Bobby finally said the moment my mom disappeared into the washroom. We were all in the mall, on the second level.   
  
I rolled my eyes at him. Jubilee was stifling a giggle.  
  
"Ah thought you said ya mom had abandoned you seven years ago?" Sam asked. His cheeks were still slightly red.  
  
"She did," I replied wearily. "I just found her."  
  
Bobby stared at me. "You - your - she left you when you were..." He paused. "Eight?"  
  
"Nine," I corrected. "She left me with my brother after my dad's - you know what? If you really want to know everything, ask Sam. He can tell you. But do me a favour and disappear, will you? I don't particularly want my mom commenting on - on - oh, just shoo." I finished, stalking into the washroom without waiting to see if they complied. My mom was just emerging from one of the stalls.  
  
"Kelsey," She said in greeting, filling her hands with soap and washing them under the tap. It was just me and her. No one else. "I'm sorry I -,"  
  
"Forget it," I interrupted. I didn't want an apology. "WHY did you leave? Why did you abandon me to Hayden? Dammit, WHY?" I shouted the last word, hearing it's echo bounce off the walls. My mom calmly turned the tap off, drying her hands on a paper towel.  
  
"How much do you know exactly?" She finally said, turning to me with a resigned look in her eyes, dropping the used paper towel into the garbage.  
  
"Enough to know that what you did was unjust and stup- "  
  
"HOW much, Kelsey?" Her voice cracked like a whip, and I recoiled as if stung. She sighed. "What do you know that happened prior to my leaving?" She asked in a softer tone.  
  
I was silent. "Dad was shot when - when I was nine." The world started blurring around me. I hated this subject. I guess I was more attached to my dad then my mom. It always made me want to cry whenever I talked about it. I can't believe I just admitted that. "I don't know why he did. You...disapeared for a week, came back for his funeral," A tear crawled out of the corner my eye, and I blinked rapidly to see my mom clearly. Must concentrate on her. "Then you left again. I haven't seen you til today."  
  
My mom sighed, leaning against the slightly damp sink. "You don't know that much then," She quietly said.  
  
"You COULD enlighten me," I suggested tiredly, my voice edgy as I wiped away the stray wetness on my face.  
  
And then she - she -  
  
SHE SLAPPED ME!  
  
I flinched as the shock jarred me to the bone. She too seemed to recoil as if she had just realized what she had done. I supposed I had it coming - but it was still awful and unexpected all the same. My mom had NEVER hit me before, that I remember, one of the few things which I do from my past. And the fact that she did now...hurt. And not just physically.  
  
"Kelsey," She began, her hand reaching out towards me imploringly, and I instinctively cowered back. Hurt flitted across her face, replaced quickly by weariness, but I SAW the hurt. And I hated myself more than I ever did.  
  
"Baby," She said. "I - I'm s-sorry. I d-don't know why - what -," She looked at me with tears in her eyes, and that made me feel even MORE horrible. One thing about my mom - she was the kind who NEVER EVER cried. Not even when my dad died. This scared the crap out of me.  
  
I settled in the end for shaking my head. "Mom. My past. What's going on?"  
  
She sighed. Long-suffering. Wiped the tears from her eyes. "Your brother's girlfriend - it all started from there."  
  
"Lyra Comerelli." My mother nodded.  
  
"Your brother - he always hated mutants, even when he was a young boy." Tell me something I didn't already know. I had been the target of his hatred, after all... "But Lyra - she was the total opposite of him. Her best friend was a mutant. So was her cousin. Your brother loved her a lot, and right from the start, it was obvious that they were both meant to be." She smiled sadly.  
  
Ugh, gag me. I hope no one ever says such a thing like that about me. EVER.  
  
"For her sakes, he...curbed his anger towards mutants. She had a great deal of influence over him, and it looked as if he was getting over his senseless hatred." Here her visage tightened slightly.  
  
"But he had been suspended before for his treatment towards others in his school...mutants especially, I remember the prinicpal telling me. Several of them held an enormous grudge towards him. But he had too many friends, and they knew there was no way they could have gotten back at him. Not...really, anyway."  
  
Horror pierced my chest. "So - they hurt him the only way they could - through his...his...Lyra?"  
  
My mother nodded, smoothening out her blouse with shaking hands. "They ambushed her in the middle of the hallway," She finally said. "She didn't stand a chance. They...violated her, and when they were done skinned her alive."  
  
Bile rose in my throat. I felt horribly sick. And these were...mutants. I was a mutant. I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to. Call it self-denial, but that was just the plain old truth.  
  
"Your brother must have found her skinless body somewhere, and his heart shattered. At the same time did his tentative growing tolerance for mutants. He went straight home, intending to get a gun, but...dad was there. He tried to stop him. It only served to infuriate him further. And so he - he - "  
  
"Mom, stop. Just stop." I broke in. I knew what came next. Dad was shot here. And the police never caught the culprit. But I now knew who it was. Tears clumped in my eyes. "How the - how do you know all this? You weren't there. You weren't there at all. You COULDN'T have known."  
  
My mother closed her eyes. "I - I'm a mutant, Kelsey."  
  
No way.  
  
My mom? A mutant? Impossible. Even though I was one.  
  
Skepticism must have shown up on my face. "And your ability?"  
  
She was quiet. "I'm not - I'm not sure, but sometimes I get...flashes...of the present and future. I - I know what's happening even though I'm not - not there. Sometimes. And only when it - it relates to our - family. I know - knew that the day Lyra died would be the day your dad would. And I just -" A funny look passed over her face, forcing her to stop. "Your dad was also a mutant," She finally said.  
  
There was a silence, one in which we both ended up staring at each other's feet. My mom - a...mutant? And my DAD? Oh, dad..."You've grown a lot," My mother finally said awkwardly, cutting through my thoughts. "And you've gotten away from your brother."  
  
I was silent. "I'm a mutant too, mom," I finally said, my voice low and rather hoarse-sounding. In case she didn't already know that from the mugger's loud proclamations. "Hayden - he tried to - to kill m-me."  
  
She nodded jerkily. "I know, Kelsey. My - ability, remember? Our entire family - "  
  
Whatever she meant to say next, I'll never know. Instead, Bobby, Sam, and Jubilee came tearing into the washroom, faces flushed.  
  
"Guys - WRONG bathroom." I pointed to the door.  
  
"No time for jokes," Bobby hissed, grabbing hold of my mother's arm and mine. "You two have to get out of here. NOW."  
  
"What?" This was, obviously, not my mom. "Why? What the hell's going on?" I broke free of his hold. Apprehension seemed to have a hold of them, and I could feel their fear emnating in THIS direction. And it was this fear that made me shiver , as if - as if someone had walked over my grave.  
  
Freaky.  
  
Bobby growled. "Kelsey, for God's sakes, move!"  
  
"Sentinels," Sam simply said, glancing nervously at the door. "An' they're headin' this way. Jus' got word from Jean. We'd betta scram before they do come."  
  
The warning had barely fallen from his mouth when the ground began to shake. There was a low rumbling, and without warning, the entire roof was torn away, revealing to all five us the late afternoon sky. That was just the backdrop though. There were at least three freaking familiar purple doll-robots facing us, red pinpricks focused upon all of us.  
  
Would someone kindly tell me what exactly I - we - did to deserve this?  
  
I would've recognized them easily, even if Sam hadn't voiced the obvious. Second time today, in fact, that I was facing Sentinels. The first was in the Danger Room with Sam. The second -   
  
Well, you can guess when the second time was. Is.  
  
:Contact Established: Came a mechanical, monotonous voice, resounding in the silence, and it shook me to the core. I shivered. It came from one of the huge robots :Antagonists - Mutant Entities Iceman, Cannonball, Jubilee, Target and Unknown.: There was a nervous silence in which I sneaked a peek at my mom. She looked...resigned? That scared me. Did she see something that foretold this event? And 'Target'? What did it mean by -  
  
Someone screamed from somewhere within the mall, scaring the crap out of me. It was loud and piercing, terror-stricken and filled with fright. It felt like we were in a horror flick, like Godzilla or something. The situation was BAD though. And as if the scream was a switch, more shrieks issued forth.  
  
A growl fell from Cannonball's - Sam's lips. "Not if ah can help it," He snarled. Then he exchanged a glance with Bobby, who nodded curtly. The temperature abruptly plunged to the point that I could see my breath misting in front of me. I suspected this was the Iceman at work. It had to be. Who else had his kind of powers?  
  
"Kelsey," He suddenly grated, eying our adversaries, who seemed to have paused momentarily, as if awaiting orders from some unknown, unseen entity. "What do you THINK you're doing?"  
  
Huh? "Nothing," I retorted. I wasn't doing anything, was I?  
  
"Yes, you are," He said. "Stop using my powers." The Sentinels stirred, rising into the air. One of them raised their palms. :Commencing Elimination of Target.:  
  
What? ME? "But I'm not - "  
  
Then all hell broke loose.  
  
---  
  
What do you think? Keep reviewing IF you want to see what happens next...  
  
Durabrain, BAilyy, FlaminDragon: Thanks! 


	9. Disbelief, Part 3

Ororororororororo... i.e. ME: Oh. You. *Unethusiastic* A BORING REVIEWER? Your review was the hit of my day! That's the longest review I've ever received, lol (well, you've seen the length of my other reviews...). I'm not a Kenshin fan *whimpers, cowers in a corner*. I'm glad you think that my style of writing = acceptable. I personally didn't think so. And why did I tell you not to read it? I have a low self-esteem. I think I suck at writing.  
  
Disclaimer: Kelsey and her mom are my creations, the rest belong to Marvel.  
  
Chapter 9:  
  
There are about four things one can do when staring directly in the face of death. The first would be to scream. The second to laugh. The third - if you're insane or very, very, VERY brave (or just plain dumb) - to fight. The last - to get the freak out of there.  
  
Of course, when you're also about ready to pee your pants, all of this goes out the head. Especially if your name's Kelsey Rias, and you're faced with Sentinels. THREE sentinels. Don't say it's not a lot, because it is, and YOU'RE not the one face-to-ugly-face with them!  
  
---  
  
There was a somewhat familiar roaring sound, and even as Sam pushed off into the air, his force-field thingy surrounding him brightly, a brilliant streak of golden-white shot out one of the Sentinel's outraised palms. TOWARDS us. Us, as in me, my mom, Jubilee and Bobby.  
  
So, naturally, I let loose a scream.  
  
To my horror, Sam actually dove straight into the path of the bolt, purposefully taking the brunt of that painful-looking attack.  
  
"SAM!" I shrieked, even as the blast struck him fully. However, the blast didn't engulf him and continue on to us. Rather, it seemed to elongate the moment it hit Sam horizontally, as if there was a barrier of some sorts shielding us from the blow. All the same, it pounded against the shield, and I watched with my heart in my throat as the barrier wavered perceptibly under the assault.  
  
When the fury of the streak was spent, I could see the crazy Southerner hovering in mid-air. His aura-like forcefield, though, was stretched at least ten feet across in the air, forming a barricade of sorts. He looked exhausted as he alighted beside Bobby while the Sentinels paused again.  
  
"Odd," I heard Bobby mutter. I ignored him, though, turning onto Sam.  
  
"INSANE doesn't even come close to describing you, you idiot!" I hollered. Why? I didn't know. I guess I had been worried for him. He was the first person I'd spilled my guts to concerning my past, after all. "You could have DIED up there!"  
  
"Ah don't think so, Kelsey. Ah explained this to ya in the Danger Room. So what part of 'invulnerable when ah'm blastin'' did ya not get?" He shot back almost amusedly, and with that, rocketed straight back up into the air (I guess he wasn't THAT tired), straight towards the Sentinel which had tried to kill us.  
  
However, the moment he neared the Sentinel, it turned towards him, training its eerie robotic gaze upon his fast approaching figure.  
  
:Contact reestablished: It spoke monotonously. Dimly, in the background, I heard more screaming, even as at least three more Sentinels loomed over us. Except this three totally ignored us, and began blasting away at various sections of the mall. There was more screaming and crying, accompanied at intervals by explosions, ones which shook the entire shopping centre.  
  
This whole mall was definitely trashed.  
  
:Mutant-entity Cannonball: It raised its hand, and I felt this sick sensation develop in the pits of my stomach. Something bad was going to happen. I just knew it. :Possesses ability to generate thermo-chemical energy, propelled through the air by releasing chemicals through skin: A gas-like vapour hissed from his palm. :Defensive countermeasures initiated:  
  
I watched, horrified, as Sam tried to veer away from the noxious-looking gas, but momentum carried him forwards into it, and I saw him cough once, twice.  
  
Then he began to fall, limply, his aura vanishing the moment he lost consciousness.  
  
"Reckless moron," Bobby muttered exasperatedly, and in front of my eyes (which bulged, I didn't know he could do THAT) he literally became a block of ice. His hands shot out, and ice poured from his palms in mid-air below the falling Sam, forming something solid akin to a - a - SLIDE?  
  
With an almost terrifying ease, the one - aptly - codenamed Iceman swung the direction of the long and twisitng ramp towards us, easing out the rise of his creation so that Sam's descent was noticeably slowed. And less dangerous.  
  
He turned to Jubilee while he did this, his face devoid of emotion. "Get them out of here, Jubes," His voice was biting cold, ice dripping off his words. "before one of them gets hurt." He jerked his head at my mom and I.  
  
My mom! I had totally forgotten about her. Spinning to face her, even as Jubilee grabbed the both of us, I was treated to a look of wide-eyed shock.  
  
"C'mon," I swung my gaze away from my mother as Jubilee tore out of the washroom with us in tow. We exited hell, and entered another level of it. People all around were screeching their heads off, scrambling for the elevators, escalators, stairs, or even jumping off the railings in desperation. We ducked as a blast exploded two stores away from where we were, shrapnel whizzing past us. I didn't get it, even as I heard sirens wailing in the distance. Why were the Sentinels attacking us?  
  
  
  
My mom shot me an unreadable look as we ran. My chest was starting to burn, my legs hurt. Definitely out of shape.  
  
"Your friends...they're - they're -"  
  
Why are YOU surprised? You ARE one too, after all..."Mutants, yeah."  
  
My mom looked away then. But not before I caught a rather sad look on her face. I wish she'd tell me what's going on. Whether she saw this or not. What EXACTLY she did see.  
  
There was an almost surprised squawk from faraway behind us, and risking a glance behind as we continued along our flight, I was in time to see one of the Sentinels bursting into millions of icy shards. Sam was back in the air, and he and Bobby were working together to slowly eliminate the remaining Sentinel.  
  
Waitaminute.  
  
ONE?  
  
There should be...TWO left...not counting the three trigger-happy Sentinels blasting every inch of the shopping centre (Where the heck were the rest of the X-Men?).  
  
Right on cue, a Sentinel came crashing down right in front of us, barring our path, making the floor in front of us cave-in, forcing us to skid to a stop hastily.  
  
I think I shrieked. I did heard terrified screams, ones which died almost instantly the moment the debris settled. So many were going to die today. The entire second floor in front of us was destroyed.  
  
With a speed that I never knew Jubilee possessed, she released our arms, and flung her hands - which, I saw, shook - out at the Sentinel. Fiery sparks - multi-coloured fireworks - burst from her fingertips, exploding in front of the Sentinel, forcing it to recoil in shock. It lost its balance, disappearing from sight with a crash. More screams. The coppery smell of blood.  
  
"Eat plasma!" She yelled, then grabbed us again and, spinning on her heel, tore off in the other direction. I felt sick as I saw the mangled bodies of peoples lying scattered on the ground, lifeless rag dolls that looked like they'd been thrown around. Too much death. Too many dead.  
  
Bile rose, as did tears. I wanted to hurl. It was like - no, it WAS - a massacre.  
  
And why? It was all so senseless.  
  
A low humming noise started up from out of nowhere, shattering my dark musings, and I heard Jubilee swear. "Keep going," She shouted, releasing us and diving to the side. We complied, and a second later something HOT incinerated the area a few steps behind us. We kept running, albeit blindly, and I was too terrifed to look behind me, even as I heard a holler of pain from Jubilee.  
  
And it was at this point when my mother started having a seizure... 


End file.
